At Scholarship Junkies, we don't want to just share our scholarship secrets with you. We want to share examples of our scholarship secrets paying off too. Through our Scholarship Junkies profiles, you'll be inspired by stories of Scholarship Junkies pursuing their dreams, and you'll hear diverse perspectives on how to approach the scholarship application process successfully.

For almost two months now, I’ve been living in the beautiful city of Lyon, France. I’d always wanted to study abroad, but was always a bit nervous that the details wouldn’t work out – the application process, the little things like phones, visas, housing, etc., but mostly: the money.

But thanks to the countless hours I’d spent applying for scholarships during my senior year of high school, I’ve literally won a free year in France – pretty incredible, huh?

Since arriving at the end of August, France has come to feel like home. There were some bumps and scrapes along the way, but in the bigger picture, they don’t even come close to outweighing the positives of my time here. Just for starters, the architecture, the ruins, the art, the history, are all completely fascinating!

For me, a girl who grew up spending hours in the library reading books about the ancient Romans and Greeks, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, seeing first-hand awe-inspiring historical artifacts—ruins of a 2000-year old Roman amphitheater, the still-standing medieval cathedrals—is a dream come true. 

One popular thing for the youth here—and one of my favorites—is to sit by the River Rhône with friends, drink wine, and watch the gorgeous buildings light up the night sky. Another favorite is simply wandering and exploring areas like the Presqu’île, Croix Rousse, and the traboules [the ‘secret passageways’] of Lyon. I could spend hours searching for traboules that silk weavers and artists of an earlier time used to keep their art from the rain, and later on, rebels and revolutionaries used to escape the police.

I would encourage you to take the time to apply for scholarships to study abroad. There are countless scholarships to take advantage of—for starters, the Boren Scholarships, CIEE Scholarships, or Rotary Club Ambassadorial Scholarships. Don’t say, ‘maybe tomorrow,’ because you may say the same thing tomorrow. There is no better day than today and no better time than now! Bon voyage!

Joanna Lim is a fourth year undergraduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle, majoring in Political Science with a focus on International Security. Joanna received several scholarships, including the Gates Millennium Scholarship and the Elks Lodge Washington State Most Valuable Student Scholarship. She is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese, and French and has also taken language classes in Spanish, Russian, and Korean. She plans to pursue a JD and Masters of Public Administration and/or Masters of International Affairs, and eventually, she hopes to work internationally as a human rights lawyer for an NGO or ideally, the United Nations. Joanna is currently studying abroad at the Université Jean Moulin (Lyon 3) in Lyon, France.